Nominations have closed and three people have filed their nomination papers; Bill Barry, Frank Coleman and Wayne Bennett. Barry's candidacy has been vetted and approved by the party but they still need to review Coleman's and Bennett's nomination papers.

Nominations also opened in Kathy Dunderdale's former district of Virginia Waters today, following Danny Breen's announcement that he would seek the Tory nomination.

Well the third candidate who entered the race to be leader was given the boot from the race after a series of weird events with him on twitter. So it's now down to Bill Barry and Frank Coleman. Coleman is seen as the frontrunner and should easily win, but he has been very quiet and is receiving criticism because of that. Barry on the other hand has been outspoken about cutting spending and shrinking government.

As well the Tories dream candidate Danny Breen lost the by-election in Dunderdale's former district last week to Liberal Cathy Bennett by a 40 vote margin. A big loss for the Tories and a huge win for the Liberals, the first seat they have won in the St. John's area since 1999.

Bill Barry announced this morning that he was withdrawing from the race due to a lack of support within the PC caucus. Frank Coleman will be the next leader of the party and Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Bill Barry announced this morning that he was withdrawing from the race due to a lack of support within the PC caucus. Frank Coleman will be the next leader of the party and Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Bill Barry announced this morning that he was withdrawing from the race due to a lack of support within the PC caucus. Frank Coleman will be the next leader of the party and Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

What riding do you think he will end up representing?

Tom Marshall has indicated he'll resign his seat of Humber East, in Corner Brook, to allow the next premier to run there. Coleman and Barry are both from Corner Brook and this was the seat Coleman said he'd like to represent.

Bill Barry announced this morning that he was withdrawing from the race due to a lack of support within the PC caucus. Frank Coleman will be the next leader of the party and Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

What riding do you think he will end up representing?

Tom Marshall has indicated he'll resign his seat of Humber East, in Corner Brook, to allow the next premier to run there. Coleman and Barry are both from Corner Brook and this was the seat Coleman said he'd like to represent.

Given the issues the PC's have had losing stronghold seats to the Liberals, do you see any issue with him getting elected?

Bill Barry announced this morning that he was withdrawing from the race due to a lack of support within the PC caucus. Frank Coleman will be the next leader of the party and Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

What riding do you think he will end up representing?

Tom Marshall has indicated he'll resign his seat of Humber East, in Corner Brook, to allow the next premier to run there. Coleman and Barry are both from Corner Brook and this was the seat Coleman said he'd like to represent.

Given the issues the PC's have had losing stronghold seats to the Liberals, do you see any issue with him getting elected?

Yes I do. Humber East was the PCs best seat in 2011 with Marshall though. Coleman however is currently facing a bit of a controversy after it was revealed he has actively taken place in pro life rallies. His wife and family attended one on Good Friday, while he was campaigning in another part of the province. Coleman says he will not change policies regarding abortion and that this is just his personal view. Of course it's not going over well with the public.

The party is also receiving a lot of flack, and rightly so, on how this whole leadership process has played out. It's now been 19 years since the PC Party has had a contested leadership race. Coleman is also becoming premier despite never holding office before and without setting out any kind of an agenda. I'm not sure what will become of him or the party if he loses the seat.

So John Ottenheimer is in. Minister Steve Kent will most likely announce his intentions after the birth of his third child in a few weeks. Bill Barry will likely re-enter and it sounds like Minister Paul Davis will also enter the race.

The new dates for the leadership convention are September 12 and 13. Nominations open Monday and close on July 7.

It appears Health Minister Paul Davis will be entering the leadership race. He's the best candidate from within the current caucus and would be the frontrunner among the names out there. Had he entered before I'd say he would have given Frank Coleman a real challenge.

John Ottenheimer is in while Steve Kent and Bill Barry are likely to enter.

John Crosbie's son Ches was a guest tonight on CBCs local political show. His name was brought up a few weeks ago during a public fight between his father and Danny Williams. John Crosbie said Williams discouraged people from seeking the leadership, Williams countered the allegation by saying he encouraged Ches to seek the leadership when Ches approached him. Ches ruled out a bid months ago because he had a class action lawsuit against the government over moose accidents. He now says his wife does not want him to run. However he will likely be a candidate in the next election. He also thinks the next premier should appoint non-elected officials to cabinet.

Minister of Health Paul Davis is announcing his leadership bid on Wednesday with Municipal Affairs minister Steve Kent announcing his bid on Thursday. Innovation, Business and Rural Development minister Susan Sullivan could also run.

The convention will finally happen in one week, unless all the candidates quit before then which wouldn't be surprising given this past year.

John Ottenheimer and Paul Davis are expected to be neck and neck on the first ballot with Steve Kent likely finishing in a distant third. Davis should be able to pull off a win on the second ballot but anything could happen.

A poll of the general public released in August showed Davis as the favourite among the public followed by Kent and then Ottenheimer. That poll was conducted by Abacus Data and showed that the PCs trailed the Liberals by 14 points. With Davis as leader the gap would shrink to 8 points. However, a CRA poll released this pas week gave the Liberals a 32 point lead over the PC Party!

As well after losing a by-election in a seat previously held by a high profile minister less than two weeks ago, this past week the finance minister resigned and the justice minister announced he was resigning after the convention. Premier Tom Marshall is also resigning after his successor is sworn in. So the party has a lot of work to do.

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